I. The second half of
chapter 30 describes Jacob's initial intention to return home and
the delay that led to further tension.

A. Once the beloved
Rachel has born a son, Jacob wants to return to the land of his father,
which was his initial intention.

1. After fourteen
years of labor, he has fulfilled his obligations to Laban and received
what he wanted, both a beloved wife and a son by her.

He also may have
been increasingly worried that the new children would grow up, getting
used to a foreign land, and would not wish to return with him later.

Laban does not wish
for Jacob to leave and offers greater wages.

1. Strangely enough,
Laban refers to divination as the means by which he learned that Jacob
is so valuable. It would seem that mere observation would be enough.
He may have been trying to add a spiritual reason for Jacob to stay.

There may be here
also an implied threat that, if Jacob leaves, Laban will keep the wives
and children.

Jacob responds by
arguing that he should look after his own family's interests as well
as be had for Laban's. Jacob could be bargaining for more wages
or giving another reason why he really must return home. Laban
takes it in the former sense and asks Jacob to set the wages.

Jacob proposes wages
that seem to be very favorable to Laban, but in fact set up a means
by which Jacob can enrich himself.

1. Jacob proposes
that animals of a certain color, namely, dark sheep and spotted or speckled
goats, would be his. Jacob would presumably shepherd the animals
and take the ones with these rare colors, for in the Middle East almost
all sheep are white and goats black or brown.

One of the great
ironies is that the proposed reason for making this color-based distinction
is that it would prevent any dishonesty or disagreement, for it would
be obvious who what the owner of each animal. And yet the arrangement
becomes the source of much dishonesty. One lesson is that, if
people are going to be dishonest, they will find a way.

Laban begins the
dishonesty by removing all of the black sheep and spotted or speckled
goats from his flock and giving them to his sons. Technically,
that move might not have violated the agreement because Jacob had not
yet begun tending the flock yet. However, there is a clear underhandedness
here, in cheating Jacob of both current and future flocks.

Jacob, however,
has his own tactics, through which the newer sheep and goats would be
favorable to him.

1. He shows the
goats a certain type of shoot, which was thought to cause them to bear
spotted or speckled offspring. It is not clear exactly how he
caused the sheep to bear black offspring, but it seemed ironically to
involve the very flocks of Laban's sons that were used to cheat Jacob.

It is likely that
the author knows that God is really the one helping Jacob. Jacob
claims later that he was instructed to carry out this plan by God, although
it is not clear whether that really happened.

Jacob does not try
to get all of the flock to be black sheep or spotted or speckled goats.
That would give the game away too quickly. Rather, he tries to
get a disproportionate number of the flock, and particularly almost
all of the healthiest flock, to be so.

It appears from
Jacob's speech to his wives in chapter 31 that, when the new goats
were speckled, Laban proposed a change whereby Jacob would get the streaked
goats. Jacob would agree and the new animals would be of that
color.

Sheep and sheep
live an average of 8-15 years now, with female sheep usually bearing
one to three young a year for four to five years. With premature
deaths, by the end of six years, most of the animals from the beginning
of the pact would have died within six years. And all of the fertile
animals would have been born in that time. Thus, the flocks (which
were the main measure of wealth) would have now been going heavily toward
Jacob.

II. After six years of this
arrangement, Jacob realizes that there is danger building and tries
to flee with his wives, children and flock.

A. The tension is
building as Laban's sons begin figuring out that Jacob is getting
more and more wealth, although they perhaps do not know why.

1. It is noteworthy
that now Laban's sons, not Laban, are the ones who are grumbling.
It has been about eighty years since Abraham's servant spoke to Laban
about bringing Rebekah to be Isaac's wife. Thus, assuming that
this is the same Laban here, he is presumably over 100 years old.
As a result, he may not have been as alert to the situation as he could
be.

In any case, the
sons are concerned for their father, and also likely for their own future
inheritance. They may also be worried about having Jacob or his
children to compete with them for dominance of the region.

B. Even with that
opposition building, it seems that Jacob was still uncertain, for things
were going well. And he was not the sort of person who liked to
travel, or the conflict that leaving could bring.

C. God resolves that
matter by appearing to Jacob, telling him to go to the home of his fathers.

- God reminds
Jacob of the covenant made with his fathers and promises him His presence.
There is perhaps an implicit warning that He will not be with Jacob
if he remains where he is.

Heeding God's
call, Jacob also wants to make sure that his wives will go with him.
After all, they have grown up in the region, and it is not clear that
they will want to leave.

1. Noteworthily,
he meets them together. It seems that Leah, who has borne six
children, has a higher status in his eyes than she had before.

2. His first
argument is, accurately, that he has worked hard for their father and
has done well. However, even here, while he accurately describes
Laban's deception, he leaves out his own.

However, he then
changes the story a bit to justify his own behavior in getting the greater
portion of the flocks. First, he says that Laban proposed the
arrangement whereby he would have the spotted and speckled goats (and
presumably the black sheep), whereas in fact Jacob proposed it.
Second, Jacob says that God told him to use a mechanism whereby the
animals would be of the color that belonged to him. It is not
at all clear that that is what happened.

Jacob does then
accurately say that God is calling him to leave the land of Laban and
return home.

It turns out to
be relatively easy to persuade Leah and Rachel and they quickly agree
to leave with Jacob.

1. The two women
respond together, which may indicate that the rivalry has lessened,
possibly because they each have children and at least some of Jacob's
affection.

2. They are apparently
(and understandably) resentful that their father used their wedding
as a means of gaining wealth, without any apparent concern for them.
It does not appear that any of the other characters has realized this
point.

They are also contemptuous
of Laban for failing to manage his estate well.

One gets the impression
from their father that their decision is right and justified, but also
tainted by a lack of concern for their family. There is an unfortunate
lack of harmony in that culture.

III. Jacob's flight
turns out very differently than expected as Laban pursues them and a
side plot develops over the theft of Laban's idols by Rachel.

Despite his cleverness
regarding flocks and property, Jacob does not plan the departure well.
He tries to evade any conflict with Laban by departing quickly when
Laban is away with his flocks.

1. Jacob, perhaps
correctly, believes that Laban will try to stop him if he leaves, or
at least try to keep the flocks and the women and children.

2. However, Jacob
completely overestimates the difficulty that Laban will have in finding
him, and so sets off with an inadequate lead time. His continual
efforts at evading conflict finally fail. But that failure will
lead to a good result, as he apparently begins to speak with people
more directly, first Laban and then Esau.

B. The text subtly
indicates a colossal problem developing by noting, almost in passing,
that Rachel stole Laban's household gods.

1. It appears
likely that she had an attachment to those gods; she has not left her
pagan ways behind.

- She also
may have been trying to prevent Laban from using them for divination
to find out where the group had fled.

2. Some commentators
have proposed that she wanted to get rid of the idolatry in her family
by taking the gods. However, she does not show much other concern
for her family. And, if getting rid of the idols was the main
concern, it would seem that she would have cast them aside at some point.

3. The entire
event indicates two problems. First, idols are now being smuggled
into the family. Idolatry would ever be a problem for the Chosen
People. Second, the fact that Jacob does not realize or even imagine
that Rachel has stolen the idols indicates that, even after 20 years,
he does not know her that well. It seems that his love has been
rather superficial.

4. Leah, the
second-tier wife, comes off again as a better match that the loved one.

C. After three days,
Laban begins pursuing Jacob, and catches him three days later, but things
still turn out well.

1. Understandably,
Laban is angry at the trickery of Jacob, and his wives, leaving without
notice.

2. Laban, without
the burden of great flocks or a large family, can travel much faster.
He also knows the land and the people well enough that he can find out
where Jacob is going.

3. However, God
intervenes to warn Laban against harm. The actual words are that
Laban "should not speak to Jacob of good or evil." That apparently
means that Laban should not try to get Jacob to return either by threats
or incentives.

4. It is not
clear what Laban intended to do, or even if Laban himself had a settled
plan. But here, despite all of Jacob's follies, God is still
looking out for him.

- It is also
not clear what Laban thought when the true God spoke to him, for Laban
was plainly a pagan, with many gods.

D. Laban then scolds
Jacob for leaving so abruptly and for the theft of the idols, combining
righteous anger and perhaps some exaggeration.

1. Laban rightfully
condemns the deceit and the lack of an opportunity for a farewell.
He also says (perhaps with some disingenuity) that he would have generously
let his daughters go.

He does say that
the God of Isaac spoke to him and told him to let Jacob go, but also
acts as though the decision is still his.

He then brings up
the theft of the idols, a matter about which Jacob is ignorant.

E. Seizing on the
last point, and believing (entirely erroneously) that the accusation
of theft is false, Jacob takes the offensive.

1. Jacob says
(probably accurately) that he was afraid of Laban's response if he
told Laban of his departure. He may be hinting at Laban's insincerity.

It does seem that
he is sincere although mistaken in his denunciation of the theft allegation,
for he offers that anyone found with the idols will be executed.
And, unlike his previous machinations, it does not seem that he is planning
this response; otherwise, he may have realized the possibility that
the allegation is true.

Jacob's offer
that anyone who stole the idols should die is poignant, not only because
it creates tension as one wonders what will happen next, but also because
Rachel will soon die, in giving birth to Benjamin a little while later.
See Gen. 35:16-19.

It is now Rachel's
turn to use deceit as she hides the idols she has stolen in a pillow
that she then sits on. Laban is in turn deceived and puzzled as
he does not find the idols.

Jacob then finally
gives a speech in which he lists his grievances and, here at last, recognizes
his dependence of the providence of God, who has guided his family.

- The speech
is still a little insincere because it does not refer to the fact that
Jacob used deceit as well as Laban. But Jacob is at last dealing
with Laban directly and emphasizing his relationship with God, an important
advancement for one who is becoming a patriarch.